The Second Mission: Rupture

“So… we are currently standing on the floor of an underground cavern… Did I get that right?”, Yamada asked, looking around in the crater.

She, Yukiko and five other MDF mages had arrived a few minutes ago in two helicopters all the way from Tokyo. Yukiko was currently fixing up Hinako’s ribs.

“Umm… yes… technically… you can see some of the stalagmites still standing…”, Kuro answered hesitantly and scratched his beard nervously.

“Then care to explain, why the hell I can see the stars and Moon from all the way down in this supposed… UNDERGROUND… cavern?”, Yamada continued to question.

“Ahhh… now that is the thing… the ceiling kinda disappeared…”

“Kinda disappeared?”

“I blew it up…”

Yamada sighed deeply and massaged her forehead.

“Why are you the way you are?”, She asked shaking her head and with a real tired voice.

“Hey, I didn’t blow up any building this time…”, Kuro mentioned with a nervous smile.

“No, you didn’t… you just blew up HALF OF A FORREST AND PART OF A FUCKING MOUNTAIN YOU DIMWITTED BRUTE OF AN OTAKU!”

“Umm… yeah… But I mean, I didn’t have much of a choice… It was either that or get buried alive.”

“… Tell me what happened.”

Kuro did tell her everything that happened since they followed Nebu to the hole. He deliberately didn’t mention the snack he had to bribe the Akaname with. Yamada listened to the report without interrupting him.

“And it didn’t occur to you to maybe report this all in and request backup, before you two jumped down the hole?”, Yamada asked after Kuro had finished.

“Umm… It did occur to me… but…”, Kuro hesitantly admitted.

“But?”

“But I chose not to… I didn’t think it would turn out this way…”

“You didn’t think… well that is one thing we both can agree on for a change… and because you’re a stupid, idiotic, braindead, moronic, imbecile Otaku that is incapable of thinking, you destroyed not only a huge part of the beautiful landscape around here but also destroyed all of the info that we could have been gathered here…”

“Umm… yeah… sorry… But we did catch one of the cultists alive… so it’s not all for nothing…”

“True…”

Yamada sighed again.

“So, this is the same cult as in Shibuya… and the last two incidents were also related to this… Morthos?”, she asked and looked at the cultist, who was in magic suppressing shackles and flanked by two of the MDF mages.

“Yeah… and from what I read, it could be one of the seven Archdemons. The master of shadows and despair…”, Kuro explained.

“Well, this is at least something to go on… I’ll forward it to the research branch. Maybe they can figure something out with that information.”

“What’s an archdemon?”, Hinako asked joining the conversation.

“The most powerful demons are called that.”, Kuro answered.

“Ah, I see… and there are seven of them?”

“Nowadays, yes… How are you feeling… Hina-chan? Your ribcage whole again?”

Hinako looked at Kuro and smiled.

“Yeah, everything back where it belongs. Wanna feel it again?”, She said and stepped next closer to Kuro.

“No, thanks.”, Kuro replied quickly.

Yamada looked between them for a while.

“Hina… chan?”, She said a bit confused.

Hinako slowly turned towards her and smiled widely.

“Yes?”, she asked innocently.

“Since wh-… ah, forget it… let’s see if our little cultist has anything to say…”, Yamada quickly changed the subject and went towards the prisoner.

She glared for a moment at Kuro, as she passed him. The two followed her. Yukiko was currently examining the cultist, who sat on the ground and stared blankly at the sky.

“Got anything out of him yet?”, Yamada asked

“No, he hasn’t said a word yet.”, One of the MDF mages answered.

“Yukiko?”

“He just has a few bruises and a bit of a blunt force drama, but aside from that he seems okay…”, Yukiko reported and stood back up.

Yamada nodded and went in front of the sitting cultist.

“So you’re a follower of that Morthos fellow, huh?”, She asked casually.

The cultist turned his head and glared at her.

“You’re not worthy enough to even call the Master’s name, MDF whore! You’ll get what is coming to you!”, he said and spat right at Yamada’s face.

She quickly tilted her head to the side, so that she wasn’t hit.

“We got a feisty one, huh? Well, care to tell me what is coming for me?”, Yamada continued.

The cultist looked at Yukiko for a second, then at Kuro, before turning back towards Yamada.

“Go to hell, bitch!”, he growled and bit his lip.

A small blood stream ran down his chin. Kuro felt that something was off, as he sensed a surge of unstable magic welling up from the man. He reacted immediately, grabbed Yamada in one hand and Hinako in the other.

“What the?!”, both exclaimed surprised.

Kuro jumped back and not one moment too late. The body of the cultist began to deform and exploded the next second. The two MDF mages and Yukiko were thrown back as a crimson light shot up about six meters into the air and then to expand sideways.

“Shit! A rupture!”, Yamada yelled.

The crimson light turned into a pitch-black oval from which green lighting began to emerge and struck into the ground around it. The two MDF mages got hit by them and screamed. Moments later they disintegrated.

“Where is Yukiko?!”, Kuro screamed looking around for the woman.

“There!”, Hinako yelled after spotting her lying a bit further away from the rupture.

Kuro immediately dashed towards her. On his way he got hit by one of the lightings in the shoulder. The shirt got burned off and the flesh beneath turned black, but he went on. He reached Yukiko, who was lying on the ground, half her face a bleeding mess and coughing.

“Fuck!”, Kuro exclaimed, grabbed the woman and dashed back.

The three other MDF mages scrambled towards Yamada and Hinako as well. Kuro dropped Yukiko next to them

“Will she be alright?”, Hinako asked worried.

“I’ll… manage…” The healing specialist coughed more than she spoke, but her wounds already began to close themselves.

“We have to close that rupture, before something gets through!”, Kuro said to Yamada.

“Too late…”, She said and pointed at the black oval with the crimson border.

The silhouette of a around five meters tall demon appeared. It had black and red scaly skin. On its head were three horns. The demon spread its two black leathery wings as it fully emerged. In its clawed right hand, it had a huge flaming flamberge. The thick tail whipped across the floor as it let out a deafening roar.

“Nishida, Haruno! Barriers up now!”, Yamada yelled orders.

Nishida and Haruno stepped in front, began to conjure up barriers and strengthen them. The demon noticed the group and let out another roar, before lunging towards them.

“Kuro!”, Yamada yelled.

“On it!”, Kuro yelled back and rushed past them to intercept the demon.

He met it halfway, blocked the flamberge with one stone pillar and let another one shoot up from under it, flinging the demon back right into one of the helicopters. Kuro immediately lunged after it, bombarding it with purple glowing rocks.

“Yoshida! Help me close that shit, before a second bastard comes through!”, Yamada yelled her next order.

“Understood!”, Yoshida confirmed and went next to her.

They both began to draw glyphs into the air, a white light ray shot out from both of their hands and connected with the rupture. It began to slowly shrink.

“What should I do?”, Hinako asked panicked.

“Stay the fuck put and watch over Yukiko!”, Yamada barked back.

Hinako looked at the woman lying next to her. Yukiko had her eyes closed and seemed to concentrate on healing herself. The bleeding had stopped already. Hinako looked back up to Kuro who was engaged in a fierce battle with the demon, who just unleashed a wide arcing fire attack. Hinako saw the flame wall coming closer and washing over them in the next moment.

Kuro looked over his shoulder and saw them vanish in the flames, but the barrier held, as they emerged seconds later, unharmed.

“Time to get serious…”, he rumbled and turned back towards the demon.

His eyes began to glow and he extended his arm. A purple lightning hit the demon in his left shoulder disintegrating a huge chuck of it. With a bellowing roar it counterattacked and swung against him. The flamberge hit him in the side and flung him into the second helicopter. Kuro crashed into the cockpit and out the other side. The demon lunged after him and swung again, this time vertically. Kuro rolled sideways and the sword crashed into the ground, causing a flaming detonation that caused the helicopter next to them to explode.

Hinako ducked instinctively as the rotor blade flew towards them and crashed against the barrier. A roar followed and as she looked back up, she saw the demon flying through the air, missing an arm. Two purple orbs followed it and continuously crashed into its body, leaving holes where they connected.

The demon turned around and glared at Kuro. Its mouth opened and a green ball formed in front of it. Moments later a ray of magical energy shot out from it right at his face. Kuro smashed one of his purple glowing orbs into it, dispersing and deflecting the shot.

Hinako flinched as parts of the ray hit the barrier and small cracks appeared. Nishida and Haruno immediately began to fix it back up again. Hinako looked around and felt so powerless. She wanted to be useful somehow, but she had nearly no magical juice left in her, so the only thing left for her to do was to watch. Yamada and Yoshida had nearly closed the rupture back up. The barrier was back to full power and Yukiko nearly finished healing herself. Hinako felt the frustration well up inside of her, but what was most frustrating for her was the fact that she knew deep down that even at full strength she had no chance at going up against the demon that Kuro was battling right now. All Hinako could do right now was watch what looked like a battle between a demon and an even more powerful monster to her.

Kuro saw with relief that the barrier still held strong. He then attacked with a barrage of short bursts of magic from his orbs. They hit the demon in multiple places. One of its legs got ripped off as well. The demon noticed finally that its chances of winning were nonexistent. Spreading its wings it jumped up with the one leg it had left and tried to flee into the sky. Kuro furrowed his brow and growled. He prepared a spell to shoot it back down, but someone beat him to it. A white beam shot through the air connecting with the wings of the demon and ripping them apart, leaving it crashing down from the sky. Kuro dashed towards the crash site. The demon struggled to get up again and haphazardly swung his weapon at Kuro, who smashed his orbs against its arm, ripping it off before the sword reached him. The flamberge and the cut of hand fell clattering to the ground. The demon tried to crawl backwards with his limbs beginning to regenerate but did not get very far. Kuro wrestled the huge flamberge from the hand still clutching onto it and drove it into the scaly body. With a last bellowing roar the demon died and its body turned to ash.

Nishida and Haruna dispelled their barrier as Kuro came back. The bright glow in his eyes slowly faded.

“Nice shot.” Kuro said to Yamada, as he reached them.

“Thanks…”, She responded.

“Was that an archdemon? This Morthos guy?”, Hinako asked.

Everyone turned towards her and looked a bit surprised before beginning to laugh.

“No, kid… That was just a common demon.”, Yamada replied.

“Not very strong one at that…”, Kuro added.

“But it was enough to lose two people… fuck! How the hell did this happen? The shackles that we use should have suppressed magic… Why did he still go unstable and fucking popped?!”

Yamada kicked a stone in frustration. With a clank it hit one of the helicopter wrecks.

“That is strange indeed…”, Kuro agreed.

Yamada turned to him.

“Thanks, by the way…”, She said quietly.

“What for?”, Kuro asked confused.

“For pulling me and the girl away in time…”

Kuro looked at her perplexed.

“But you let me get hit by it, you fuck!”, Yukiko said sarcastically, pulling herself up in a sitting position.

Her wounds were all healed up, only a bit of red showed where she had been hit.

“I knew that you would be fine. I know how tough you are. A small flesh wound like that is nothing but a scratch for you, right?”, Kuro said with a weak smile.

“True… but sometimes I wanna get saved by a brave knight as well! I’m a woman, too, you know.”, Yukiko replied with a faked pouting face.

“Get you husband to do it then…”, Yamada interjected.

“Ehh? Sacchan, you’re a meany! You just want to have Kuro all to yourself! But you seem to have a new rival, huh?”

Yukiko looked at Hinako and smiled mischievously.

“Don’t call me that!”, Yamada hissed with her face turned away.

“Okay, okay! Yamada-san…”, Yukiko said and gave Hinako a wink.

Hinako looked confused.

“We lost our ride home as well… Anybody got an idea?”, Yamada asked, looking at the helicopter remains.

“There is a nice Onsen Resort in the area… They have good food and drinks as well…”, Kuro suggested.

Yamada looked at him.

“That’s the second thing I can agree on with you today… Did you hit your head? Well fine, let’s go… we can write it off as work expenses as well…”, Yamada agreed.